Guide to Roleplaying, Etiquette and Having Fun!
We've been getting heavier traffic on our the Naruto Roleplaying Subreddit as the project has been going on, this is fantastic. Roleplaying is not only fun and creative but a great exercise for getting into your character's head and improving your writing skills. There is a lot of reiteration in this guide, some points I can’t emphasize enough on, we want this to be as memorable as possible! Roleplaying unfortunately does not come with a handbook on etiquette or terminology, so I decided to make one for you guys! This guide is for roleplayers both new and old, and I encourage even experienced RPers to read this guide. I f you feel that I've missed something or failed to properly explain anything, by all means, let me know! I want to make this guide as comprehensive as possible and outside input is greatly appreciated. Important: Character death may occur during PvP and/or during missions. PvP can break out anywhere. It is, however, slightly less likely to be deadly when it occurs inside of villages. Why? Because inside a village, if there's a large commotion the local shinobi patrols and/or ANBU will be responding to break things up and punish those who are misbehaving. If you're not a local ninja and you are stirring up trouble, that punishment may be execution. Character death may occur during missions, however this is usually rare and due to a character making poor decisions during a mission. Role Playing Terminology Certain terms are used in a lot of role-playing forums. Here is a list of commonly used ones. Autohit/Autohitting: Controlling the success of an attack without giving the other player an opportunity to respond. It is a form of godmodding and is punishable. Chatspeak: “tlkng leik dis!!1!”, Don’t do that, it is anti-fun and also an offense. This is a text based environment and proper language should be used. Godmodding: Making your character all-powerful and perfect. Autododging-- where your character never gets hit-- is a form of this. People will dislike you for it and get annoyed. It derails threads and is a heavy offense; punishment for repeated godmodding will be severe. IC: In Character, used when speaking Metagaming: Having your character know something that they logically shouldn’t. This is a punishable offense. Examples include knowing something you read in another thread (you weren't present for), using information on another's wiki page, or using otherwise OOCly obtained information to influence your IC actions. OOC: Out of Character, used when speaking. Denoted by brackets [ ] on the sub. Powerplaying: Controlling characters that are not your own. This includes autohitting and is banned from basically every RP circle everywhere. This will be punished. Dos and Don'ts A lot of the don’ts will result in punishment, anything from probation, an in-game fine, to even weeks or months of being “put in prison” resulting in a criminal status. Even worse punishment results in perma-banning. In contrast, following the do’s and good roleplaying will be rewarded, with ranking up, additional money granted, special rights, unique abilities/items granted and more! Do: *Post any and all actions taken towards another character or NPC as attempts. If you are engaged in a fight with NPCs or another charactery you must find an overseer. *Use [ ] to denote OOC speak *Stay in-character and do your best to keep their actions consistent. *Follow the logical progression of a plot. *Use correct grammar and punctuation. *Allow the other character(s) to react to your actions, even in a fight. *Respect the other player's right to play their character how they want to. *Keep your character's reactions theirs and not yours. *Stay consistent and logical in what your character knows or can do. *Do your best to conform to the RP style of the thread. *Communicate with your roleplay partner(s) if you're unsure of where to take the plot or if you have an idea that you want to implement. *Be open to suggestions and constructive criticism on your roleplaying and be willing to adjust if necessary. Don't: *Suddenly change your character's typical reactions or personality without proper characterization or build up. *Throw in a random scenario or add needless drama to a thread without giving a logical progression towards it. *Write in a way that is hard to understand or follow. *Control another player's character or make your attacks automatically hit if not specifically agreed upon. (Bannable offense) *Expect the other player or character to react a certain way or get frustrated when things don't go how you expected. *Use OOC chats constantly, especially for non-RP related topics. *Let your own emotions and reactions control your character if it makes them inconsistent. *Have your character know things that they have no way of knowing in-character or otherwise "adjust" your character to fit the situation. *Refuse to respect the RPs posting style. *Not allow your character to get hit in a fight. *Automatically assume that your RP partner(s) will know what you're planning. Tips for a Better Gaming Experience #Make your character interesting and know that you will have fun playing your said character; if you don’t enjoy it, why play it? #Don’t take the roleplaying too seriously. What I mean by this is don’t let you characters life become yours, it’s entirely a possibility that your character might die, if your too attached to your character that can be devastating. #Don’t forcefully look for a romantic interest. A romantic interest will feel much more natural if you just roleplay things out. It will find you, given time. #More important than anything, have fun. Don’t be afraid to challenge something and bring it to notice of the Mods, if someone is breaking a rule, let them know! If you’re not having fun, it’s likely that others aren’t as well. Let the Mods know about this as well, give them constructive criticism. Don’t be rude about it, be polite and they will be much more likely to take in what you have to say. Nafarias (talk) 00:25, February 13, 2013 (UTC) How to get Involved with Other Players What you have to do is work to entwine your character's story with other people's. Build relationships with other characters (rivalry, friendship, enemies, etc). The more other people are involved in your character, the easier it will be to have people latch onto your story posts! Here are some tips for getting the ball rolling on those initial character relationships: # Post on other people's self posts! Don't jump into a situation where your character doesn't make sense, but if someone else posts something that gives you an opportunity to make your character relevant, take it! # Simply PM someone! This could be someone in your faction, a teamate, or really anyone! PM them about starting up a roleplay thread between the two of you, it will make a good starting point for future rp! # If all else fails, make enemies! Haha I say this because an enemy is a lot easier to make than a friend. Even if no one seems interested in hanging out with your character, go at them with a kunai and I guarantee something will develop. Good luck! Category:Rules